From:
RPG <inittab@zzzzzzzz>
Date:
Fri, 16 Dec 2005 12:51:07 -0500
Subject:
cleaning limestone
Thanks for the reply John!
John Vancamp wrote:
Quoted text begins.First off, blasting limestone with any blast medium will have a definite
effect on the appearence of the stone.
End of quote.
Damage to the stone is definitely a big concern of mine. The only
appearance change I desire is clean stone. If media blasting leaves
behind marks, streaks or significant abrasions on the stone then I
definitely don't want that. With that said, I'm curious about a process
called "soda blasting". Soda blasting is similar to "sand" blasting
except the media is baking soda and it uses special high speed equipment
for cleaning. It's expensive but it claims to not damage substrate
materials.
Quoted text begins.Even pressure washing at high pressure can do conciderable damage. Much
of the organic staining can be dealt with by using bleach.
End of quote.
Bleach is an interesting idea but cleaning an entire house would
certainly be messy and environmentally questionable at best. Working
small areas at a time is probably the way to go with this method.
Quoted text begins.The portland mess may need to be removed mechanically. Do not use any
masonry cleaners that contain acid.
End of quote.
Mechanical removal of the portland would surely damage the stones.
Perhaps this is where selective and careful use of sandblasting might be
appropriate. I'll have to look into masonry cleaners.
Quoted text begins.Repointing is another matter, and with a structure that old, repointing
probably should be done with a lime putty mortar rather than a hard
portland cement mix.
End of quote.
Absolutely! I've been doing my research on the subject and lime mortar
is in the plan. I've even gone so far as to procure a sample of local
sand so that I can match up the color as close as possible to what may
have been used originally.
- References
- message 00495: cleaning limestone - John Vancamp (16 Dec 2005)
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